NO. 1928. DRAOON FLIES OF THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY— WILSON. 199 



SUMMARY. 



Certain facts must be carefully considered befo;:'e any conclusions 

 of real value can be drawn. 



1. While collecting was done at all times of day, from early dawn 

 until long after sunset, yet the examination of any one locality was 

 confined to a few hours, or at the most to a day or two. 



The results, therefore, will be general, applicable to the whole 

 river or large portions of it, rather than specific for any locality. 



2. The collecting did not begin until the very last of June (the 

 28th) ; almost the whole of the best dragon fly month of the year was 

 thereby lost, and thus the author failed to obtam some species at 

 least that must have been present earlier in the season. 



3. There was a continual progress in the localities visited, sea- 

 sonally, from late in June until early in September, and geographi- 

 cally from the Jellico and Pine Mountains in the extreme eastern part 

 of Kentucky through the Cumberland plateau of central Kentucky 

 and Tennessee to the lowlands of the western portion of the latter 

 State. Such a combination of different localities, different dates, 

 and different elevations would preclude any data with reference to 

 seasonal distribution. My conclusions, therefore, must be general 

 rather than specific, geographical rather than seasonal, and must deal 

 with the habits and habitat of the various species, and not so much 

 with their local distribution or relative abundance. In accordance 

 with these suggestions the following may be fairly deduced : 



1. Of the dragon flies here named it may de stated that the river 

 is entirely patrolled by the two species of Macromia, by two of the 

 Gomphus species, plagiatus and pallidus, and by Dromogomphus 

 spinosus. 



2. The two species of Macromia are to be found everywhere, over 

 still water as well as at the ripples, on the river, along the banks, 

 and in the fields at some distance from the water. Although not as 

 numerous as some of the other dragon flies, nor bunched together in 

 restricted areas like the species of Oomphus, the large size of these 

 Macromias and their superior agility easily give them the suprem^acy, 

 and they are admittedly the king dragon flies of the Cumberland 

 Valley. 



3. At the ripples the species of Gomplius are very much in evi- 

 dence, the dark-colored plagiatus and the light-colored pallidus far 

 surpassing all the others in their geographic range, as well as in 

 actual numbers at any one place. They are the patrols of the swift 



' water and are almost never seen except in its immediate vicinity. 



' While not as powerful nor as active as the Macromias, yet their influ- 

 ence is greatly enhanced by this habit of congregating in considera- 

 ble numbers at definite localities. 



